


Of Espionage and Wizardry

by Ridingthewindsofheaven



Category: Alex Rider - Anthony Horowitz, Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-01
Updated: 2019-01-01
Packaged: 2019-10-02 00:46:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 15,033
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17254481
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ridingthewindsofheaven/pseuds/Ridingthewindsofheaven
Summary: Harry and Alex unexpectedly find out they are related and have to spend the summer together. Will two different boys from two totally different worlds get along? Fun and adventure.





	1. Chapter 1

Harry Potter sat on the swings in the park thinking to himself. It was night and nobody else was around except for the occasional bypasser or Dudley's gang – who, even though they were notorious bullies, paid no attention to Harry. The air was hot and there was little prospect of their being any wind. The summer promised to be a hot one and that was the last thing he needed after the horror of the Triwizard Tournament. A lonely streetlight dimly lit up the shrivelled brown grass near the entrance of the playground. Harry was completely in the dark, nobody could see him.

'Well, I'll start moving my things around to make way for Alex tomorrow', thought Harry, 'Right now I'll just relax – it is my first day back at the Dursley's.'

When he came back to the Dursley's he was greeted with an unwanted surprise, he would be sharing his room with another boy for the first two weeks. Harry had never seen or heard of him before, but technically the boy was his half-cousin. He was a bit younger than Harry and his name was Alex Rider. He was raised by his Uncle Ian Rider after his parents died in an aeroplane crash, but Uncle Ian died a short time ago, leaving him an orphan. Alex was only staying here because his guardian was sick. He would be staying with the Dursleys for a short time and then probably be gone, never to be seen again.

Apparently Harry's mother had an older half-sister called Helen, who also had a son. Aunt Petunia had never mentioned Helen before but she never talked about her sister Lily either. He was told that Helen was a successful nurse before she died. It was obvious to Harry that Aunt Petunia was jealous of both her more talented and successful sisters.

Harry was unsure how he would cope with his newly discovered cousin around, after the Triwizard Tournament he just wanted to be alone. The boy was a muggle, which would also make his study difficult as well as receiving owls from his friends. Worst case scenario his half-cousin would be another Dudley or even a non-magical Draco Malfoy. On the bright side they already had some things in common; the instant dislike from the Dursleys and being orphaned at a young age.

'Well, at least I could try to give it my best shot with him." Harry muttered under his breath.

Harry got off the swing and put on his invisibility cloak, then walked home unseen by the snobby neighbourhood of Little Whinging. When he was a child he had hoped for other family besides the Dursleys, he had gotten his wish - though this wasn't what he really wanted at this time.

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The taxi drive from London was daunting on Alex but as the taxi drove into the uniform, clean, snobbish Little Whinging he became more pessimistic. On top of it all, it was obviously going to be the hottest summer in record. He didn't need a weather man to see that, it was visible all around him – brown grass, no clouds and no people outside.

He had no idea why MI6 had decided to send him here; even though they were biologically related kin they were also complete strangers. He was actually given two options, stay with the Dursleys or stay a week in a foster home. What a pleasant start to the summer holidays!

Jack Starbright would be in stuck in America because of a family emergency. He was also unable to stay with Sabina Pleasure and her family for the week, much to his dismay. There was also no chance of being able to stay with other friends like Tom Harris. Alex would do anything to stay with them instead. Being forced to stay with total strangers was a burden, especially since he had just survived and recovered from an assassination attempt by Scorpia. He thought he may as well take the chance to meet biological relatives, even just once.

He had read their file during the drive and could only groan. Petunia Dursley was his mother's half-sister; she lived with her husband, son and nephew. Vernon Dursley, her husband, was the director of a drill manufacturing company called Grunnings. Petunia was a homemaker. His first cousin Dudley went to an expensive academy called Smeltings where he had a notorious reputation for being a bully. His other cousin Harry Potter didn't have any information written about him, other than he was fourteen turning fifteen. Suspicious. He only stayed in their home during the summer holidays, but there was no information about where he went to school or anything like that.

"What address did you say again?" The taxi driver asked him.

"Four Privet Drive."

"We're almost there."

The taxi driver eventually stopped in front of a house. It looked identical to the others around it with a nice manicured lawn and a tidy flowerbed. The taxi driver was nice enough to help with his luggage and wished him luck. He obviously looked like he needed it.

He overheard some rude neighbours in the house next door to his left:

"Oh, another stray has found its way onto the Dursley doorstep," said a woman, "At least this one bothers to comb his hair and wears decent clothes."

A man replied, "This one is the son of Petunia's older half-sister. How many sisters does she have and why do they keep on dying and leaving kids behind? We only found out about the other one when he was dropped on the doorstep as a baby."

"That woman does have skeletons in her closet," Another woman replied, "I don't know why she would house another one, seeming that Harry is such a handful."

Alex decided to ignore them and continue forward.

When he first knocked there was no answer, but he could hear chatter and footsteps inside.

Alex was slightly shocked at the woman who opened the door for him; she was blond, had wide blue eyes and a long delicate neck.

"Hello," Petunia's voice was curt and unfriendly, "You must be Alex Rider. I'm Petunia. Harry will show you to your room - Harry, Alex is here!"

Alex looked behind her to see an obese man and obese boy his age sitting on the couch watching TV. Dudley Dursley was chubby and blond; he took one at Alex's more athletic body and sneered in distain. The obese man (obviously Vernon Dursley) took one look at him and started glaring at him. They were eating grapefruits, which suggest that they were trying to diet. Alex felt embarrassed that these people were, even remotely and estranged, related to him. He instantly realised coming here was a mistake. He should have chosen foster care.

With creaking down the stairs, an extremely different boy came to meet Alex. Wearing dull, baggy clothes, scruffy black hair, round glasses – Alex thought he was a pauper. It was obvious that Dudley Dursley a spoilt brat and that Harry Potter was the neglected one - He could tell within seconds of meeting them. Alex wouldn't blame Harry if he was abnormal. Alex could tell that there was something very different about Harry, he had a lightning bolt scar on his forehead. He felt like there was something different about Harry but he couldn't put a finger on it. Harry smiled at Alex even though it was obvious that his stay here was an intrusion.

"Hi, I'm Harry and you'll be sharing with me," said Harry, "It's nice to meet other family. You seem more normal than the Dursleys."

Alex shook his hand, "I feel the same. I'm Alex."

Harry helped him take his luggage upstairs, struggling to do so. Alex would have just offered to take it up by himself being much stronger but he felt like it was rude not to accept Harry's kindness. It was tidy and dully decorated. There were plenty of pictures of the three of them, but had no pictures of Harry around. It was almost like he didn't exist. He supposed that they didn't care about Harry; it was probably how they also felt about him as well. Out of all of his new found family he instantly liked Harry the best.

"As long as you don't make too much noise or bother them they honestly don't care what you do," Harry confined when he placed the suitcase in the room, "I usually sleep during the day and go out at night, otherwise I'm in the cupboard under the stairs studying or reading. If an owl knocks at the window come and get me – her name is Hedwig and she's my pet."

"So, Harry," Alex started again, trying to make awkward conversation, "I'm gathering that the Dursley's are unfriendly."  
Harry shrugged and rolled his eyes, "Yeah but don't take it personally. Aunt Petunia is jealous that her siblings are better than her. I heard her say that she was a nurse who went on to study medicine."  
"Yeah," Alex said, "She was doing an internship when I was a baby. My mum was going to be a doctor. Let me guess, she's a housewife whose bitter that she hasn't done anything else with her life?"  
"Shh... don't say that too loud. Word of advice, don't talk to them unless you have to."

There was an awkward silence. The room was small, dull and boring. All it contained were two beds on two sides, a cupboard and a lamp. There were no posters or anything that gave a clue to any of Harry's interests. The room's only saving grace was that there was a pedestal fan. Neither of them wanted to appear intrusive and ask questions about each other. Their eyes, Alex's brown and Harry's green, met for a moment and saw a deep similarity – they both lived troubled lives.

'What am I supposed to talk about with him? My adventures with MI6 –saving millions of school children from being infected by a killer virus, attacked by an evil scientist who made clones of himself, taking down an deranged former Russian Militant and evil pop star, Ark Angel, Julia Rothman and being shot at by SCORPIA?' Alex thought as he put away his things. He had a feeling that Harry was thinking something similar. Well, he would expect that from a poor boy who manages to have a pet owl. It was super cool but out of the ordinary.


	2. Chapter 2

Harry spent the rest of the afternoon in the greenhouse reading, while he left Alex to be alone in the room. Dinner time came quickly and Harry felt that it was in his best interests to warn Alex about Dudley's diet before they sat for a meal.

"What?" Alex grimaced, "We have to participate? I'm absolutely starving!"

"Sorry," was all that Harry could say, "I had hoped that you might have brought some sort of food with you or at least some money. My personal supply is limited but I'm willing to lend you some."

"That's good. I brought plenty of money. Is there a shop nearby?" "No, there isn't – you'll have to take a bus tomorrow."

Suddenly Aunt Petunia raised her voice to call the boys for dinner. When they both entered the dinning room Dudley and Vernon were already sitting at the table eating. The dinner comprised of a wilted salad, a few steamed vegetables and a pitifully small sausage.

"You could have at least waited," stated Alex, who was unused to the rudeness of the Dursleys. To which Uncle Vernon replied, "You're late."

It was a very awkward dinner in which nobody really felt like talking. Not only because of the heat or the addition of another unwanted nephew, but also because the food was bland and it took a long time before all of them managed to swallow it. Once again, Harry wished there was some sort of magic that could make an uncomfortable situation like this easier. The jokes that he and some of the other Gryffindor boys pulled in common room were definitely not allowed in the Dursley's house – he was sure that Alex would appreciate some of them even if he was a muggle.

Finally, Uncle Vernon broke the silence, "So, Alex? Do you play much sport?"

"Oh yes," Alex's face lit up, "I do a lot. I have a black belt in karate and especially like skiing."

"That's good, Dudders is a champion boxer," stated Aunt Petunia nodding her head vigorously, "Do you do boxing?"

"Um… no I don't. Its one of the sports I haven't done. My Uncle Ian always said that it was better to defend than to directly start attacking." There was more silence.

Alex looked like he had a lot of questions to ask but didn't know where to begin, or more precisely, how to ask them without upsetting the Dursleys. Harry knew that this was not possible. Alex was smart enough to know this as well.

"Does Harry do any sport?" Harry looked down at his plate, feeling embarrassed. It would be nice to tell Alex that he was the Gryffindor Seeker and explain Quidditch, but that was not allowed.

"No, he doesn't. He's not very good at anything." Replied Dudley and that was all to it. Alex gave Harry a sidewards glance, he was shocked at the way that the Dursleys treated him. All Harry could do was seethe through his teeth. It was obvious that Alex quickly disliked them just as much as he did. Uncle Vernon soon left the table and Aunt Petunia started cleaning up, leaving the three boys sitting there.

Harry continued to force his way through the wilted salad, vaguely hoping that staring at the thing would slowly make it disappear through non-magical means. Aunt Petunia was not going to let them throw away the salad. Unexpectedly, Alex winced in pain and held his left side; it was the side that was exposed to Dudley beside him. Dudley had a wide smirk on his chubby face. Which meant that he must have swiftly hit Alex while neither of his parents were watching. What shocked Harry more was what happened next – Dudley's eyes rolled towards the back of his head and he fell onto the floor with a thud. Both Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon rushed to Dudley's aid, allowing for Alex and Harry to make a breakaway for their shared bedroom. When they got back to their room, Alex smirked at Harry. Alex was holding out what looked like a tiny grey tile.

"The jerk hit me," Alex whispered, "So I put this in him. It's a tranquiliser patch that only knocks him out for a few minutes, but it doesn't hurt him at all. Honestly Harry, how do you put up with these people for a whole summer? You deserve better, you really do."

Harry couldn't help but smile, "With patience and a little magic really."

Harry gave Alex some of the sugar-free snacks given to him by Hermione's parents. Harry explained that his friend's parents were dentists - that was at least something that he could tell Alex. Both of them could hear the ambulance coming to Four Privet Drive, only to find that Dudley was alright again. They overheard the paramedics telling the Dursleys that they had already been to seven other heat-related collapses that day, that Dudley was probably the same. This meant that neither Harry nor Alex could be blamed.

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Alex woke up the next day feeling a little better than usual – the pain from his injuries had disappeared. Besides that his first night at the Dursleys had been awful; Harry had a habit of muttering and shifting in his sleep, the bed was a cheap brand and was extremely uncomfortable and last but not least, the Dursleys did not want the boys to leave the air conditioner on. It was extremely stuffy that night and not to mention hot. The fan that slowly rotated around the room was of little help.

Alex had already decided that the Dursleys were not his family. He found everything about them repulsive; from the way Petunia Dursley arranged the house to the way that they treated Harry to Vernon's over-opinionated rants. They were extremely dull and selfish people. The only nice things he could attribute to them were that they had taken him into their home for a little while but their hospitality was atrocious. Although they weren't as evil as Damian Cray, Dr Grief, Herod Sayle or the other villains he had met thanks to MI6, he would still be telling Mrs Jones that he would rather stay one more night with Scorpia than stay with the Dursleys.

Harry on the other hand was a totally different matter. Alex liked Harry enough to start considering him a family member – even when they had only known each other for only a day or so. He was the nerdy cousin that Alex had imagined having. He wondered what Harry was muttering about in his sleep, he could gain fragments but he decided to ignore it. The only thing he didn't like about Harry was that there was no conversation – neither of them was daring enough to try and share their life stories or find common interests. That night they had a short-lived conversation before going to bed:

"Hey, Harry?"

"Yeah?"

"How did you get the scar on your forehead?"

"I fell down the stairs when I was a kid. How did you get your injuries?"

"I fell off my bike while cycling up a mountain."

"Ouch, that sounds painful."

It was evident that Harry believed his explanation as much as Alex believed that Harry received a lightening shaped scar on his forehead from falling down stairs.

Alex decided to stop staring at the ceiling and get out of bed. The usual morning aches and pains were absent. Alex checked his body – his wounds had disappeared. It was a miracle.

He wanted to tell Harry but he was gone. On the bench table there was a bottle left behind – purposely or accidentally he did not know. Alex picked it up the bottle; its label read  _Wiggenweld Potion_. He had no idea what that meant but decided to investigate further, his acquired spy instincts were taking control. It would be wrong to look through Harry's things – Harry was a nice guy and definitely not the sort that would be a criminal – but Alex hoped that it would give a clue into his mysterious healing.

The first thing that Alex decided to look through was Harry's draws; the first thing he saw was a collection of dull, baggy and old clothes. Then he dug deeper and found something interesting – it looked like a stick but it wasn't, instead it seemed to be a wand of some sort. Whether Harry was Wiccan or into some sort of New Age cult wasn't supposed to be any of his business but Alex could not control his curiosity. He jokingly gave it a swish and put it back where it belonged. He also came across some books –  _Defence Against the Dark Arts Grade Four_ ,  _Intermediate Potion Making for Students_  and  _A Guild to Magical Beasts_. He felt a sense of confusion come over him.

Alex put them back and decided to look at the suitcase under Harry's bed. When he looked under the bed, there looked like there was a broomstick behind the suitcase. It was tucked far out of sight. Alex decided not to touch it. He did take out the suitcase though; it was light and appeared ordinary but had the initials 'HP' as well as some sort of red and gold sticker with a lion on it. The word 'Gryffindor' went through the middle of what looked like an insignia. Alex did not think twice about opening it. It only contained a large mysterious silver piece of cloth. It was beautiful and mystical with its velvet touch, intricate patterns and metallic-like shimmer. When Alex picked it up and turned to look at its opposite side, he noticed he could see straight through it – like there was nothing there. When he put it up against his arm, it looked like his arm had disappeared. It could cover things and make them invisible. Alex filled with shock and amazement – it looked much cooler than anything Smithers could have created for him.

_Tap, tap, tap, screech_. Alex jolted in fright. He turned around to find an owl at the window. Alex quickly put the cloth back in the suitcase and was careful to put the suitcase in the exact same place where he found it. He then opened the window to let the owl in – he had no idea what else to do. It was a barn owl; it had a letter in its beak. It placed to piece of tainted paper in front of Alex and observed him from its heart-shaped face. It flew away after a couple of seconds. Alex was stumped; he had seen some pretty unbelievable things in his short life but today already contained the weirdest things he had ever come across.

"Well," he muttered to himself when he lay back on the uncomfortable bed to stare at the ceiling, "I'll be damned."

Alex had spent a few minutes in thought before Harry came into the room. He looked dull; dressed in baggy clothes and with black hair that looked un-brushed.

"Um… there's something I need to tell you."

Alex sat up and felt guilt wash over him, "Yeah."

Harry noticed that he was uncomfortable, "Is there something wrong?"

Questions buzzed around Alex's head:  _Should I ask Harry about his stuff? Should I tell him about myself? I think I should definitely talk to him._

"Oh, there's something I need to tell you too but you go first."

"Aunt Petunia is having some guests over for lunch and she wants us to leave immediately before the come over. We can come back at four in the afternoon."

"What?"

"Yeah, I know right. Anyway, what was it that you wanted to tell me?"

"Um… An owl came earlier and left a letter," Alex pointed at an unopened envelope on the desk, "I just left it on your desk."

Harry gave him an overly trusting smile, "Thanks Alex. Would you like to go over to the shops with me?"

"Nah, it's been a long week already. I feel like walking around the park for a while. I'm not trying to be antisocial or anything."

Harry was not offended at all but rather it seemed evident that Harry wanted some time alone as well, "That's perfectly alright. How are you going? I hope last night wasn't  _too_  hard on you."

"It was terribly hot but I woke up feeling a lot better."

"I'm glad to hear that," Harry grabbed his bag and walked out smiling slightly.

Alex honestly didn't know what to think.


	3. The Wizard and the Spy

It was much cooler and windier that night; Harry regretted not bringing a coat to the playground. Harry looked around him and relished the fact that the park was isolated. He hadn't seen anyone except a few cars pass by and have a few people stare at him from outside the windows.

Some of the Dursley's neighbours now knew where he went at night. He supposed that they thought he was doing drugs, vandalising or any other thing that delinquent muggle teenagers did. The truth would disappoint them; he usually just sat on the swing and did nothing. It was only a couple of days into the holidays and Harry was already more bored than he was in History of Magic classes.

'Alex seems like he's fine so far', he thought, 'but he was acting a bit funny this morning.'

He hadn't seen Alex since that afternoon since Aunt Petunia kicked them out of the house. Harry hoped that Alex didn't go searching through his stuff – he had left his cloak and broom under his bed so the Dursley's wouldn't touch them. He had healed Alex early that morning – it was a kind of thank you for standing up to Dudley and getting away with it and also out of sympathy of Harry's injuries.

'Crack' Harry heard a branch break – he jumped off the swing. He hoped that it wasn't another stray dog – he always had a mild phobia of dogs, except for Sirius of course (thanks to Aunt Marge, encounters with Fluffy the three headed dog and a werewolf).

As Harry listened closer, he could hear what sounded like a few people coming towards him. Harry had been so absorbed in his own thought that he had hadn't heard them before.

"Hello? Is there anyone there?" Harry muttered.

Harry heard chuckling. There was definitely more than one person and it seemed to be male. Harry regretted being in his own thoughts for so long.

"Hello," A man said patronisingly, "What is a young lad like yourself doing out this late at night? Huh?"

"Yeah, would you like come with us for some fun tonight?" said another man, his voice equally condescending. Harry knew he would not like what they had in mind. He could now see their silhouettes – they looked much stronger and fitter than Harry. There was no way he could fight them even if he wanted to.

Harry said nothing, but tried to think of some way to escape from them. They were blocking the lit up entrance and Harry knew that it would be difficult to get around in the dark. He wished he had brought his wand or invisibility cloak, but he knew he would not be able to use magic. He was stuck in the dark surrounded by two muggles who obviously had very unsavoury thoughts in mind for him and there was absolutely nothing he could do about it. It made Harry aware of how reliant he was on magic.

"Let's get him." They then started to lunge at Harry.

Then someone else came in, smaller but swift. The figure gave one of the men a kick to what looked like the groin, which made him double over in pain. The other man was quick to retaliate but the figure blocked his punch with only one hand and also gave him a kick to the groin as well as a hit to the head.

"Come on Harry," the voice was Alex's, "Let's go quickly."

Harry took Alex's hand and started running towards the dimly lit street leaving the men behind, still lying on the ground in pain. Alex had just saved his life.

"There's no need to thank me," said Alex, "I owe you an apology for looking through your things while you weren't around. I'm sorry."

Under normal circumstances Harry would have been furious with Alex but given the situation, he was more than willing to forgive. It also made Harry question about what Alex looked through.

"That was so cool! How did you manage to do that?"

In the dimly light street, Harry saw Alex smile. "Oh, I have my own ways – not as cool as some of the stuff I saw under your bed."

"I'm a wizard, Alex." Harry initially regretted blurting out these words, fearing Alex would laugh. Alex didn't though; he only stopped and held out his hand.

As Harry shook it, Alex stated – "Hi, I'm Alex and I feel like I should let you know that I'm a spy. Pleased to meet you too."

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Alex had no idea what made him blurt out the truth, he supposed that they would have had to tell each other the truth eventually. Alex had no idea what made them open up to each other like that and so soon. He expected Harry to laugh when he said he was a spy, but he didn't – Alex didn't laugh when Harry proclaimed that he was a wizard and that was far more farfetched.

Harry only looked at Alex. Alex couldn't see his expression because it was too dark, but guessed it was curious. They continued to walk together through the streets of Little Whinging. For a while there was silence, albeit not an awkward one. Alex wanted to start asking questions, but he was still slightly worn out from defeating the disgusting men in the park. Alex also didn't want to attract more people like the ones in the park by being loud.

"So, how did you learn how to do that?" Asked Harry pensively. Alex didn't think that the recent encounter disturbed him too much.

"Oh, this –" Alex jokingly made karate chops with his hands, "I use to take Martial Arts ever since I was small, Uncle Ian was certain that I should be able to defend myself. I'm a black belt."

"You'll have to excuse me – But what kinds of Martial Arts are there - which ones did you do? It has been a while since I've had any contact with the muggle world. There's nothing like that in the wizarding world."

"Muggle?"

"Non-magical person."

"Oh – I did some taekwondo and judo but I liked karate best. I suppose you wouldn't need anything like that where you come from."

Even in the dark, Alex could tell that Harry was rolling his eyes, "If only it was that easy! If you hadn't come for me I would have been gone. I wish I hadn't had left my wand in my room. Of all the times I could have forgotten to bring my wand. Sirius would not be impressed – he's my godfather by the way."

"Oh, is that who looks after you?"

"Yeah, pretty much. There's also the Weasley family, their son Ron is my best friend - as well as Hermione, who sent me the sweets. Hogwarts is my home; I stay there most of the year."

Alex couldn't imagine thinking of school as being his home, but he supposed that Harry had nowhere else. The Dursleys weren't much chop as family.

"Who do you live with?" Harry asked him.

"Jack Starbright is all I have. She originally came to England from America to study law but never left. She then decided to stay as a full time housekeeper and babysitter when I was seven. There's also Sabina's family who let me stay with them. Anyway, how do you become a wizard?"

Harry smiled sympathetically, "You can't become a wizard. You are born one and later receive a Hogwarts acceptance letter on your eleventh birthday. Usually you're magic if you have magical parents – but sometimes, like my friend Hermione, you can be born to non-magical parents. Sorry Alex."

Alex couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. He liked the idea of being whisked away into a world of magic – he could leave the problems MI6 had caused him far behind.

"Anyway, never mind me. I want to know what it is like to be a spy. Is it exciting? I wish I could get away with rendering Dudley unconscious without getting into serious trouble. I'll get in trouble from the Ministry of Magic if I cast spells outside school – the Ministry of Magic is kind of like the wizard government. I could get expelled and be banned from using magic around muggles, but they do excuse you if it's a matter of life and death."

Alex really didn't like the word 'muggle', but he let it pass.

"My Uncle Ian was a spy before he died; it was actually related to his death. They then started using me as a part of their missions. They blackmailed me by threating to cancel Jack's visa. I never wanted to be a spy. I've seen things that nobody, let alone a kid, should see. I do get satisfaction though, knowing that I help people."

"I can kind of relate to that. My parents were killed by an evil wizard called Voldemort. They thought he died when the killing curse backfired on him – that's how I got the scar on my forehead, but he's back now and he wants to kill me as well as take over the wizarding world."

Harry said those words with angst and kicked a gravel rock. There was nothing that Alex could do or say to this. Harry had problems of his own, maybe even more troublesome than his.

"I still think it would be cool to do magic though."

Then Harry turned to look at him, in the dim light it was evident that Harry had come up with some brilliant idea.

"I think it would be really cool to take you to Diagon Alley. We would have to take a normal bus, but I could take you to the Leaky Cauldron and let you have a look around. I still amazingly have some Polyjuice potion from a while back – Hermione sent me a survival kit last holidays. It would be better not to look like myself. I'll explain it all later. How does tomorrow sound? "

"Yes," Alex said, having no idea what he was getting himself into but knew that it sounded like fun.


	4. Adventures in Diagon Alley

Alex was shocked when he saw the effects of the Polyjuice Potion – he could hardly believe that Harry could ever look like the obnoxious, rat-faced friend of Dudley. His mouth hung wide and he seemed paler than usual. Maybe it would be a mistake to take Alex to Diagon Alley after all.

"Prove it's you, Harry." Alex said; he wanted to make sure that he was talking to the real Harry.

"Of course it's me, Alex" Harry smiled at him, remembering Alex was new to this stuff, "You look a lot like Dudley when you gave him a knock-out patch or whatever you call it."

Harry knew he had to be careful; the risks and consequences associated with exposing Alex to magic would be severe. Never-the-less, Harry was also excited about going back to the magic world for a short trip. It beat staying at the Dursley's that Wednesday. Harry was glad that he had saved the sample of Polyjuice Potion given to him from Hermione all this time– he would have to thank her for that as well as the sugar-less snacks (which surprisingly weren't that bad). Harry planned to go undercover as one of Dudley's friends so that he could go unrecognised and avoid attention for a couple of hours. He had told Alex about the dilemma of getting hair from one of the bullying boys and Alex, being the sly fox that he was, 'bumped into' Piers Polkiss and ripped out some of his hairs earlier that morning when Pier came to 4 Privet Drive to play on Dudley's Xbox.

Alex seemed a bit hesitant to enter the magical world, but he assured Harry that he really wanted to. Harry emphasised that it was unwise to talk to anyone. If anyone their age came to talk to them they could claim that they were both home-schooled. Harry told him that they would have to wear wizarding clothes there to fit in, something that would convince people that Alex might be a wizard. Alex seemed to be a bit uncomfortable with this idea but he didn't say anything.

They talked a bit while on the bus, it surprised Harry how much they had in common despite coming from totally different worlds. Harry had to keep his voice down just so Alex could hear and not any other muggles, it was possible but hard.

"What kind of things would you like to see first?" Harry asked him.

"I dunno. Owls? I guess. You can choose."

"I think we should try some ice-cream and go from there. The place is called Florean Fortescue's Ice-Cream Parlour."

When they got off the bus, Harry spotted the Leaky Cauldron straight away. Knowing that Alex wouldn't be able to see it, he took Alex by the hand and guided him through. It was easy enough to slip into the Leaky Cauldron's toilets and change into wizarding clothes. Nobody paid either of them any attention – it was a common occurrence for teenagers from Hogwarts to visit Diagon Alley during the school holidays. Harry considered it a break from the usual attention he got.

Alex gaped in amazement when he first stepped into Diagon Alley. Harry remembered his own first time in Diagon Alley and wanting eight more eyes to simply look at everything in its entirety.

When they came to Fortescue's, Alex told Harry that he wanted to try everything. Something Harry agreed to, so he ordered the taste tester for Alex and a simple chocolate and strawberry sundae for himself.

Neither of them had conversation while they were eating ice-cream, Harry thought it would be rude to interrupt Alex while he was processing everything.

"Has your friend been hit by a confounding spell?" A nearby middle-aged witch whispered to Harry from behind, noticing Alex's strange behaviour.

"Yeah, it might take a little while to wear off but he will be fine."

She gave Alex a quick, sympathetic smile and went back to eating her ice-cream. She minded her own business after that.

Then the unthinkable happened, Harry spotted Draco Malfoy from the crowd. He was grudgingly walking beside his mother. It was obvious that he wasn't a keen shopper. He then noticed Alex and Harry and looked like he had seen two teenagers who seemed friendly enough to talk to. Harry quickly avoided eye contact, just hoping that Draco wouldn't come any closer. Alex could tell that something was wrong and began to look worried. Harry quickly took another sip of Polyjuice Potion, just to make sure that his disguise wouldn't come undone easily.

'No Draco, fuck off! – you're not wanted,' Harry thought while seething though his teeth, 'No! Don't come any closer! For the sake of Merlin's white, long beard don't come any closer!'

The situation was inevitable. Draco Malfoy had come up to them.

"Hi, I haven't seen either of you anywhere before. Do you go to Hogwarts?" Harry found it odd for Draco to be acting in such a friendly way, it was like seeing a troll read a book – something really weird.

"No, we don't. We're from Germany." Alex replied; his accent was surprisingly believable. 'Please don't fuck this up Alex. Please!' Harry thought.

"Ah! So do you go to Durmstrang?" Draco replied, his interest peaked.

"Yes we do. We're currently on vacation – visiting Alexander's family in York." Alex acted like lying was second nature to him. 

"Well, what is it like there? My father thought about sending me there, but mother wouldn't allow it. I bet not being around muggle filth must be great."

Alex had no reply to this, he only shock his head – "Sorry, my English is not so great neither is my cousins and we have to go."

Harry replied though, "I personally don't know what you think is wrong with muggles. I know some that are really great people."

Draco scoffed at him and turned to walk away – it was obvious that he felt a little hurt. Alex turned to Harry and muttered something in German. Harry replied with a "Ja, Ja." They had completely fooled Draco Malfoy into believing that they were both German and went to Durmstrang. It was golden.

"Harry, do you know that guy -" Alex told him when Draco was clearly out of sight.

"He's a prick and I'd rather not." They both laughed.

They then continued to walk around Diagon Alley – Harry bought Alex some cheap stuff as souvenirs for Alex. It included a box of vanishing powder and real invisibility ink with pen. Alex was amazed, but he also seemed sad at the same time.

"Thanks for bringing me here, Harry but I want to go now."

"What's wrong?"

"I don't belong here Harry. I'm not a wizard remember. I -"

Alex didn't complete his sentence; he was distracted by something behind him.

Harry turned around to see a haughty man standing behind him. Shallow faced and hooked nose, it was a man that Harry would not escape – he was a lot smarter than Draco Malfoy. He brushed a strand of greasy hair away from his face.

"I am assuming it is you, Potter." He could see through the disguise of the Polyjuice potion – he then turned to Alex, "And who are you?"

Alex was stumped for words. Harry felt rocks of dread fall into his stomach.

"Come with me… both of you."

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Alex knew this couldn't be good. Whoever the man was, it was obvious that he wasn't one that Harry wanted to see and therefore was trouble. He looked like the kind of freak that you would only see late at night walking through a dodgy part of a large city, like London. His appearance was off-putting; the long black robes he wore looked almost as ragged as his greasy and limp hair. Alex was more disturbed by his eyes – beady, black eyes that seemed to be able to penetrate your mind and reach into your thoughts. He had a sullen and standoffish demeanour that reminded Alex of the villains he had faced.

"Mr Potter, do you care to explain why you have brought a muggle into Diagon Alley?" he probed.

"Snape -"

"That's Professor Snape to you!" he snapped, "Now go on."

Harry looked so scared he could shit himself. He stuttered, "I was only going to show him around for a while."

Snape's pale face flushed pink, "Out of all the irresponsible, juvenile, exceptionally stupid things you could have done - you had to bring a muggle into the wizarding world! Something your father would have done."

'Wow,' Alex thought, 'Such a professional professor. I don't believe that the wizarding world has teacher checks.'

Alex's eyes met Snape's then quickly darted away. He had the impression that Snape could analyse him by glaring into his eyes and leaching inside him. He supposed that people in the wizarding world were just as nice as people in his world – there were always going to be a few creeps and other highly unpleasant people.

"You know how dangerous the wizarding world is at the moment Potter and I shouldn't let you get away with endangering the life of a muggle. Do I have to go back to threatening expulsion from Hogwarts? It worked when you were an eleven-twelve year old and it doesn't seem like you've matured a lot since then."

It seemed strange to Alex that this man, a teacher at Harry's school and obviously one that disliked him in particular, could find and recognise Harry despite being disguised by some potion. Alan Blunt was right about something: things were rarely mere co-incidence. Yet again, Alex supposed that anything was possible with magic.

Neither Alex nor Harry could say anything, but with a long minuet's silence Snape continued to talk.

"I am willing to let you both go, if you are willing to do something for me. Potter, that even includes not mentioning this to other teachers and Dumbledore."

They unwillingly followed Snape to Eeylops Owl Emporium. It surprised Alex that the place was so dark inside. They met a middle aged wizard inside sitting at the counter; he wore a multi-coloured robe and had a shocking, unkempt green Mohawk that looked like an overgrown segment of hedge. Alex hoped that this punishment was not going to include being pecked to death by owls.

"Good afternoon, Polixenes. How are you today?"

"Hi Severus, good to see you back so soon. I am feeling fine as long as the owls are behaving fine. What can I do for you?"

"What the heck - Snape has friends?" Alex heard Harry whisper lightly under his breathe.

"You know how I lost at flash poker the other day and I owe you fifty galleons – I have a proposition to lessen the amount I owe you down to thirty five. I have two boys that need punishment after catching them doing something naughty. I was wondering if you had any jobs that needed to be done. They haven't brought their wands with them, so they will have to joy of doing it manually."

The man raised an eyebrow and gave a slight smile, amused by the idea of punishing the boys.

"Oh, good – its near closing time and I need to start cleaning up for the night. Now if you boys would come here, we'll get started on the owl crap."

Alex instinctively turned around to try and walk out the door, but Snape stood blocking the entrance like a brick wall. There was no clever trick out of this. No spells. No martial arts. No foreign languages.

So the next two and a half hours were spent cleaning up owl cages under the supervision of Snape and his friend, the shopkeeper.

Neither of them felt like talking during the trip home. They were both tired and feeling a bit sick from the stench of owl excrement. Harry had returned to appearing like his natural and much better looking self since they left The Leaky Cauldron. Alex could tell that Harry was disappointed that their trip ended badly.

"I'm glad that you took me out today Harry, despite everything." Alex confined when they got off the bus at Little Whinging.

Harry smiled a little rebelliously, "Snape was following me. Creep. But at least he decided to punish us there and then instead of telling Dumbledore"

Alex knew it was better not to, "I really did have a great time but I don't think I should go back. We don't want to risk getting in trouble again. Besides Harry I'm not a wizard, I don't belong there."

Harry just shrugged, "That's ok. It would be better not to go back anyway; I don't think Hermione would lend me anymore Polyjuice Potion."

They both returned late to 4 Privet Drive, so there was no dinner which didn't bother them anyway  
(the thought of Dudley's diet food made them both shudder in disgust). Neither Petunia nor Vernon Dursley cared about where the boys been. Dursley was obviously out with his friends, being an actual teenage delinquent.

When they got back to their shared room, Harry took out some of the unusual muffins baked by one of Harry's friend's mother – they were like nothing Alex had ever tasted before – or more rather many different flavours in one, he could taste normal things like chocolate and cinnamon but also gross things like rotten egg, horseradish and dirty socks. When he asked, Harry told him they were Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans. 

Then Alex checked the mobile phone that MI6 had lent him to contact him with. There was one message, which meant that he would have to take the bus back to see Alan Blunt and Tulip Jones at the Royal and General Bank. He couldn't be bothered to open it being so tired, so he decided to leave it till tomorrow.

"Is there something up?" Harry asked, thought his attempt to seem like an ordinary teenager slightly missed the mark.

"Um… Yeah, I have to see people tomorrow. In London."

Harry seemed interested in this, "Could I go with you? Just for something to do."

Alex had to think about this, he remembered the last time he tried to bring Sabina into the MI6 headquarters.

"Yes, Harry. Why not? But I suggest bringing that invisibility cloak of yours."


	5. The Crafty tricks of MI6

Thursday morning came and Harry knew it was his turn to be shown around Alex's world. Harry had to admit he was curious. He was interested in how muggle world worked in contrast to the small, close nit wizarding society he was a part of. He had nothing to do with muggles except for the Dursleys for so long he had forgotten a lot about how most non-magical people solved their problems. Of course, once he left the Dursleys it was unlikely he would have any more contact with muggles, so this was his last chance.

Alex told him that MI6 would send a taxi to collect him at six in the morning, but it wasn't a real taxi – it was one of their personal vehicles that they used to transport agents. Both of them would have to get prepared early, not that they had any problem with that.

Alex seemed to dread these meeting with MI6 and obviously thought that Harry was being more excited than he should be. When Harry inquired about this, his reply was merely: "It always means bad news in some way or another because they get me to do something that I don't want to. They always manage to manipulate me. I would honestly like it if you came with me this time."

They decided not to bring very much with them, just the basics and the invisibility cloak. When the taxi came Alex was careful to allow Harry to get in first, Harry would touch Alex as a method of communication – to tell him whether things were alright. The trip to London was very boring, the driver did not (or perhaps was not allowed to) talk to Alex and neither could they talk to each other.

The taxi eventually arrived in Liverpool Street and the cab driver merely nodded at Alex, gesturing to leave. Getting out of the taxi without alerting the driver involved Alex taking a big stretch as he stepped out of cab and waiting until Harry tapped him twice on the shoulder – the signal. They had stopped outside a very plain and drearily-looking building called 'The Royal and General Bank' which seemed a lot like the place where Uncle Vernon worked only smaller (Gruntings, Grunnings or whatever his drilling business was called – not that Harry really cared) or rather, just as boring.

He and Alex went inside the building with care; Alex said that there were complex monitoring systems. The man on the front counter had such a dull appearance that Harry was sure that he would completely forget it with in a day or even a couple of hours.

Alex almost feebly, "I would like to see Mrs Jones please."

The man turned to his computer and typed something in the keyboard. It was common routine.

"Most certainly, this way." He gestured left to a door that had opened automatically and another dull looking man waved at Alex, he seemed to recognise him.

More passing doors and riding an elevator until they came to an office that had 'Deputy Head of Special Operations' written on it, then the man that lead Alex knocked on the door and waited until he received a "Come in," before he opened the door for Alex. Harry gripped Alex's shoulder, making sure that he didn't get stuck in the door or shut outside.

There were two people inside the room. There was a woman sitting at the desk; she was middle aged with short black hair and wore usual black and white corporate suit. There was also an older man who was sitting on a chair towards the window, further away from the door. He had grey hair and sharp grey eyes; he looked at Alex with a curious look. He also seemed to be subtly scanning the room for something or someone else, Harry suspected that the man could tell that he was there but that would be impossible. There was no way he could know that.

The woman smiled sweetly, it seemed genuine "Hello Alex, it's great to see you here so early this morning."

"Um… Hi. What do you want from me today?"

It was the man who spoke, "Did you bring someone with you?"

Harry felt a thud in his stomach; he dreaded that something like this would happen.

"We detected something with heat and motion sensors. Even with our secret magic detectors. It's okay to come out. Harry James Potter?"

Harry just stood there for a minute, dumbstruck. He thought that muggles were completely ignorant. He then decided to slowly remove the invisibility cloak – both adult muggles seemed slightly shocked by such a thing. They might know of magic but they were not use to it.

The man brought himself to smile, it seemed like a smile that he would make whenever he got his way, "Hello, Mr Potter. I'm Alan Blunt, in control of the SIS. You are known to have been the only person to survive the killing curse. Even among the limited amount non-magical people who know of magic, you are rather famous. The fact that you have come here on your own suggests that Mrs Jones' original plan had work and you had both made easily enough."

Harry looked to Alex, had this all been a set up and had Alex known all along? Alex was shaking his head in shock and ignorance.

Mrs Jones explained further, "Well Alex, when we checked files we found out that you were related to Harry Potter as a half-cousin through your maternal grandfather, we figured that it gave us the perfect opportunity if something came up that would require some sort of magical intervention. You were sent to the Dursleys in the hope that you would easily make friends with Harry, we supposed you both would be interested in each other considering your similar histories. Otherwise we would have gotten Alex to trick you into coming here. We honestly did not expect you to come here on your own accord. We sent Jack Starbright on a quick vacation to see her family in Washington; she is not sick and feels so guilty for having to lie to you. She promises to make it up to you when she gets back."

"- she can come back provided that you both do this small deed for us. It won't take long but it's vital that you do this." Alan Blunt added with a slightly sinister tone.

Harry remembered something that Alex said about his caretaker Jack, 'She's the only adult I honestly feel I can trust.' He said it with good reason. Alex would feel a little betrayed by her at the moment.

"So, Harry – are you going to help us? I assume that your neglectful guardians would not be too fussed by your absence."

Harry looked at Alex who also seemed shocked. They had both played into their hands perfectly. They were going to use him as well as Alex. A part of him forgot how smart muggles could be. There was no way in his heart that he would allow Alex to be permanently separated from someone he loved and trusted – he might also be sent to live with the Dursleys and that would be horrible. He looked at Alex again, there was no way that he could just abandon Alex and leave him away from his caretaker. On top of that, he owed Alex and owed him quite a lot.

So reluctantly he replied, "I'm in. What do we have to do?"

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"What?" Harry exclaimed, "You want me to break into this vault? I think it's a job that you can do alone without my help and without magic and it's in Switzerland."

Mrs Jones shook her head, "Unfortunately not, screening of this vault has proven that it is being safeguarded by magical as well as non-magical means. We cannot do it by ourselves. The vault belongs to a man called Aloysius Drachenklaue, an Austrian industrial engineer and multi-millionaire. Our information has revealed without reasonable doubt that Drachenklaue is planning to plant one bomb in major capital cities all over the world. It is necessary that we get into that vault and dismantle the bombs inside before Drachenklaue has a chance to transport them. Harry, you and Alex will be saving hundreds or maybe even thousands of lives. We usually have nothing to do with the wizarding world or anything of the sort but this is quite an emergency, the ministry refuses to give us any assistance no matter how serious the situation is. They don't like mingling in 'non magical affairs'. This is our very last resort."

Harry still wasn't impressed by this and folded his arms in a typical teenage position of defiance – it seemed odd on Harry as Alex considered him to be so well-mannered and rather shy, "Then why send an underage wizard who hasn't yet fully completed his schooling? Is Drachenklaue secretly a wizard in disguise? How would he be able to have magic methods to guard his vault?"

Harry had asked the right kind of questions, Alex recognised Mrs Jones' eyes lighten-up as they often did when she was surprised by some of the things he had said. She turned to Mr Blunt, hoping that he could give Harry a good, solid answer.

Alan Blunt cleared his throat, "It is interesting that you ask that. We have only found out the answer not long ago. When our sensors first detected magic around Drachenklaue's fault in Switzerland we first thought that it was some sort of fluke but further testing proved that it wasn't. The magic doesn't seem to be too complicated, but it is still something our scientists haven't yet figured out how to undo. It is obvious that he isn't controlling it himself but is using naturally magic objects that can move in their own right without intricate control or accurate instruction."

Harry gave Alan Blunt a curious look but said nothing. Alex almost prayed that Harry would stay, even though there would be no way of Harry being able to do a runner or abandon him anyway. Harry didn't want to be in this situation and neither did Alex, there was no choice either way.

Mr Blunt continued regardless, "When we first came across Aloysius Drachenklaue's file there didn't seem to be anything unusual about him. He is an extremely successful man that had just recently retired at 67. He and his wife have a happy family with successful adult children and now also grandchildren. However, as we delved further into his history we found out that there was no real information on his birth certificate or other history before he applied to study engineering at the University of Vienna at the age of 16 – there's not even any sort of evidence to suggest that he ever attended school at all. We were also interested in his surname; it is very unusual to have a surname that means 'dragon claw', it seemed unreal at first. When we did DNA analysis on Drachenklaue it did not show that he had some of the genetic mutations necessary to be a wizard, only recessively. It suggested to us that he might have had magical parents and maybe other relatives but did not inherit magic himself. We also gained information that suggested he felt bitter about 'not belonging in the world of his estranged and deceased parents' despite having a privileged and prosperous life. We believe that Drachenklaue wants to blow up specific places that are significant to the magical populations of these capital cities out of festering resentment. It is possible that hundreds of people could die as a result, we have uncovered that he plans London to be one of the first cities he will detonate bombs."

Blunt gave Harry and Alex enough time to digest this information before going any further. Mrs Jones handed a folder that had 'CLASSIFIED' stamped in red across the front. She also showed the boys a picture of a man dressed in a black business suit; he looked borderline elderly with a smug expression on his face and he sat in on an expensive red arm chair in front of a fireplace, the room was obviously filled with the best of everything. They didn't need to be told that it was Drachenklaue.

"We need the both of you to work together, it's the only way." Mrs Jones continued, "After we brief you both on the specific details after lunch we expect you to go down to Smithers to get some equipment. Mainly for Alex, but I think he also has a surprise for you too Harry."

"Boys, after this MI6 is offering to send you both on a trip to the Alps for some fun skiing – provided that everything goes to plan of course. It will just have to be you boys on your own this time. There is no possibility that any other agents will be able to get past security underneath invisibility cloak."

'But how often does MI6 ever truly keep their promises?' Thought Alex skeptically.

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Alex was accustomed to the tradition of seeing Smithers to be given some fancy new equipment before his next mission. Harry wasn't though and seemed amazed that some of the contraptions in Smithers' laboratory could function completely without magic but with complex planning and scientific knowledge. It was like Harry had walked into Alex's own Diagon Alley.

Within a few seconds Smithers greeted the boys with his usual jolly, good-natured attitude.

"Hello, Alex old friend and Harry Potter. I've got some great things for you, Alex, as well as a little something for Harry."

"Hi, Smithers." Alex replied with a wide smile.

"Hello," was all Harry could say.

Smithers' eyes rested on the silverly cloth that Harry had folded like a towel in his hands. The obese man's beady eyes began to irradiate immense curiosity.

"Is that the 'invisibility cloak'? The one you used to become invisible inside headquarters? Can I have a brief look? Do you also have your wand with you?"

Harry came closer to give Smithers a quick look at the cloak. He still kept it in his hands though; Harry was rather protective of it. Harry also briefly brought out his wand; he seemed to be uncomfortable sharing this with a muggle stranger. Harry then quickly put both of them away.

"Well, I never thought I get to see the day when I would see an actual wand and invisibility cloak," Smithers chuckled, "I've enjoyed putting the magic detector to use today, Harry. I look forward to the day when agents will be able to use magic to make themselves completely invisible – but that's a long way to go. We can't do it naturally like you can Harry."

"How can you detect magic?" Harry asked curiously.

Smithers put a finger to his mouth, "It's beyond top secret," He whispered, "If I told you I would have to kill you. Despite my happy demeanour I'm not joking. Between you wizards and the cheeky aliens, the government has a lot to keep quiet. Forget I said that. Seriously."

"Now Alex, I've got you the usual exploding ear stud, a couple of tranquiliser darts, the Gameboy and some more exploding gum as well. Harry, I've managed to get a small time turner to get you out of trouble if anything goes wrong. It was found by MI6 by chance. We believe that only someone who is magic can use it. So it currently has no use to MI6 at the moment, we would like it back when you're finished."

Smithers gave the boys their things. Harry began scanning the time turner intensely.

"Is it genuine?" Smithers asked concerned.

"It seems to be. My friend had one but I would have to try it out to be completely sure. Not here of course. There are specific rules when it comes to time turning."

"Ok. Now boys, remember to have fun."

Alex knew that despite everything it wasn't intended to be, one way or another.


	6. The Mission

MI6 had dropped them off about three blocks away from where they were meant to be. When the black van had reached their destination, the boys were simply wished 'good luck' and told Alex to contact MI6 again via his Gameboy to be picked up again. It seemed pretty irresponsible of them to just leave them, but Alex said he was accustomed to being treated half way between a child and an adult agent. Harry, whom had never been outside of the UK, was disappointed already in his first trip overseas.

They had pasted security without a problem under the invisibility cloak. The vault was underground and they needed to wait until there was someone who wanted to use the elevator and went to the right floor. They nearly waited for three hours.

When the elevator reached the right floor, Harry was confronted by a kind of omnipotent remoteness. They were in Zurich but the vaults were so isolated from the rest of the world that one wouldn't have been able to tell where it was if they had not remembered coming through the bank entrance. It was hard to believe that there could be a busy city street right above them. The silence was deathly, even under the invisibility cloak they had difficulty getting past as they were afraid because even the gentlest of steps made a kind of echo.

The cold, mute isolation made Harry feel pessimistic about coming here. He personally doubted that MI6 had told them the truth about an insane squib planning to bomb numerous cities out of malignant jealousy. He and Alex were pawns forced to do their bidding. He really did feel sorry for Alex and he considered Alex to be like him in the aspect that he had never asked for anything to happen to him. Like him, he was just a magnet for those sorts of things.

'The only reason I'm doing this is because of Alex and that's that,' Harry thought as he readjusted the black jumper that MI6 had given him – it was barely enough to keep him from becoming hypothermic, 'I can't believe that any serious spy agency would seriously sent teenagers to fulfil their purposes.'

Despite what he thought, he and Alex carried on regardless - walking through the system of vaults desperately trying to locate the one that belonged to Drachenklaue.

"It's strange that there aren't any guards here." Alex whispered, seeming a little concerned.

"Yeah," was the only lame response he could give at the present time.

He and Alex continued to walk through the corridors, being careful to shield themselves underneath the invisibility cloak at all times. It was hard to navigate; there was white walls, grey carpet, numbered vaults on both sides and nothing else. Luckily Alex had his Gameboy to help them navigate their way around; it told them where they needed to go.

"679H, 679I, 679J, 679K…." Harry heard Alex mutter lightly under his breath. They were looking for 690A, at least Harry had the sensation that they were on the right track. They knew they were getting further and further towards their intended target. Harry felt dread over what would come, it was nerve racking. Alex had experienced this kind of thing before and felt calmer, but for Harry it was all completely unknown.

Soon, Alex muttered the inevitable – "Harry, we're here. You have to unlock it; it's the only way to open it without setting off alarms."

Harry brought out his wand and muttered "Alohomora", while tapping the vault with his wand three times. It was a simple spell and Harry had no idea whether it would work or not, but it was worth a shot. Surely enough the vault door opened; there was a green flash and a small monotonous voice that muttered something in German – they were in!

It was dark inside the vault and there definitely seemed to be a lot of space. They both gingerly stepped inside, they had no idea what to expect. They took off the invisibility cloak and Harry put it into his bag. He did not know whether they would need when inside the vault.

"Lumos Maxima."

"Thanks Harry. Well, there's nothing here but a door to another room and a big white concrete block right in the middle."

Alex seemed to be a little disappointed. The room was also nothing but the colour white as was the concrete block in the middle.

'Some security,' Harry thought and took a step further.

"Stop, something isn't right. There might be traps." Alex was speaking out of experience.

"Revelare."

The incantation made beams of orange light appear; they intersected the room at odd angles but always came out of the white block – it obviously wasn't what it seemed. It would be almost impossible to get past them. It might have been the magic that MI6 had detected or just an extremely clever muggle invention, maybe something Drachenklaue created himself or by his company.

Alex quickly interjected, "Don't move, they're lasers. They might cut your arm off, cause you to bleed to death and permanently stain the beautiful grey carpet. Or even worse set off alarms!"

"Ha Ha." Harry was not in the mood for sarcastic, deadpan humour.

"Seriously though, don't let them touch you."

"Ok, so how are we going to get across?"

Alex looked around the room, "Umm…. It looks like there's a slot where you insert a card. It's near the front door. Maybe I can undo it with the Gameboy. I can just hook it in."

After a minute of trying, it was apparent that Alex's Gameboy was not going to make the door open. Alex then took out his earring and attached it to the machine. Harry was going to offer help, but it looked like Alex wanted to do this himself.

"It's worth a try but we might want to stand back a little."

With a small bang, the machine stopped functioning and all the beams of orange light disappeared. Both boys tried to open the next door and to their surprise, it was not locked at all and they simply went inside.

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The door automatically shut and locked behind them - trapped. Then came a ticking noise - a digital timer appeared on the wall opposite them and it was counting down from five minutes.

"Oh no!" Harry exclaimed. It was obviously not good - the whole place was bringing back memories of his first year trying to save the philosopher's stone.

"You think? We have to do something."

Then a voice started to speak in German. Alex did not seem comforted by this.

"There's going to be poisonous gas in here unless we can say the password. It also says that the gas will last for about two hours. Then guards will come in three hours to collect us. We'll be dead Harry!"

'Drachenklaue must be some sort of sociopath,' thought Harry disdainfully, 'or at the very least, over the top obsessive about the security of his plans.'

"Alex, its ok – we have a time turner. I'm sure I can remember how to use it."

Harry took out the time turner from his pocket and placed the chain around both of their necks. He tried to remember how Hermione used it. A lot had happened in a little over a year but he hoped that he could make it go forward in time and save them both from the gas. He hoped that Alex being a muggle wouldn't have much effect, he didn't want Alex to die by being gassed to death.

He remembered that Hermione spun the hour glass backwards, making them go backward in time. How many hours depended on how many times complete turns were made. Harry spun the turner forwards two times and a little bit more just to be safe.

Surely enough and as corny as it sounded, Harry could literally feel time fly. He could see Alex was uncomfortable but at least he was travelling in time too. They held their breath while time travelling, just as a safety precaution.

When the turner stopped, both the doors in front of them and behind them had opened. He could hear vents sucking out the poisonous gas and replace it with health air. The gas was obviously colourless, but there was a faint foul odour of rotten eggs. Both boys quickly ran into the next room, eager to avoid the smell of remaining gas.

The next room was large and was already lit up, inside were stacked large wooden crates with the inscription 'TYD 1000'. Harry presumed that it was filled with the bombs they were looking for. Harry guessed that there was about sixteen of them in total, four columns and four rows.

"Nox." He muttered and lowered his wand; he no longer needed the light.

"So Alex, did MI6 tell you what we are supposed to do now?"

"Yes, we have to dismantle each one of them and we have little under an hour in which we can do it before the guards will come. Let's get started."

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Alex frowned as he read the instructions that MI6 had displayed on the Gameboy screen, "How the hell are we going to be able to dismantle them all it only one hour?"

It wasn't simply a case where they could cut the red wire; they also had to unstack the crates, open them and take them out. They would have to do so extremely carefully as there was a chance the bombs would emit more of the rotten egg gas if knocked violently – Hydrogen Sulfide if he could remember correctly. According to the Gameboy, Drachenklaue had designed that function specifically.

"How difficult does it look?" Harry asked rather naively.

"Very difficult."

"Can't I just use magic? I know a spell that will safely diffuse pretty much everything."

In a moments panic he had forgotten that Harry could just simply use his magical powers. He felt a little bit silly.

"Ok."

Harry pointed his wand at an individual crate and casted 'Wingardium Leviousa'. The crate lifted itself up and moved onto the ground in front of them. Another spell was used to make the wooden crate disappear and leave the bomb on the ground. The bomb looked nothing more than a small black and grey generator, but never-the-less it seemed modern and powerful.

"Let's try the spell on this one." Harry aimed his wand at the bomb unconfidently and muttered a spell. The whole bomb eerily glowed purple for a moment. He began frowning.

"Alex, the spell isn't working. It has to be done manually. There's some kind of counter charm on these bombs."

It wasn't what Alex wanted to hear, but he knew there was no time to complain. He quickly could do what MI6 had shown him though the Gameboy. It was much easier than he had anticipated.

With their combined effort they managed to complete the task in a shorter amount of time. It felt like a huge relief – the worst was over.

They still had minutes to spare; they still had to wait until guards came and opened the vault – that was their opportunity to escape. They could hear light sirens calling but it sounded far away, probably because it was outside the vault. It wasn't long before he could hear the sounds of shoes running on carpet then the concrete of the vault floor. The vault door opened, it sent shivers down his spine.

He could see Harry get out his invisibility cloak from his bag.

"Quick, we need hide!" Harry called out to him. Alex got underneath the cloak with Harry.

He could hear men starting to argue in German. It sounded like they were in the gas chamber. Alex could understand most of their conversation. It was obvious they were scared.

"What! What the hell is happening? There's no body in here! Last time there was."

"This is freaky, man. Maybe it is just a false alarm. We should check the storage room."

"You're such a moron! How can it be just a false alarm? There are things broken and censors activated."

"Well it's not my fault that the old fool won't allow camera surveillance in his storage vault! And quite frankly, we don't have any idea as to what's really going on so just keep quiet. So we have to check the storage room anyway, then we have to call backup - that's protocol. Duh!"

"I swear on my mother's grave that I really, really hate you Michael."

"That's ok. After today you no longer have a job."

"What! You can't just fire me after all these years! Either way, after this all of our careers will be ruined. So it doesn't matter."

And so, the men continued to argue. Alex had quickly lost interest in the immature and unnecessary bickering between colleagues. He and Harry were able to swiftly make their way out of the vault and use the elevator without being noticed. It was so much easier than they had expected. Once the elevator had reached the ground floor, they quickly got out of the building unharmed. They only started talking to each other once they had reached the street and sneakily took off the invisibility cloak. Nobody saw them.

"What were they going on about?" Harry asked rather curiously.

"Just stupid stuff. Nothing to worry about."

"I can't believe that I didn't even need to stupefy them. They just fought among each other."

Alex didn't really know what Harry was talking about but he didn't care. The mission was over and that was that. They would meet Mrs Jones at the rendezvous point and eventually they would go home.

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	7. Chapter 7

Alex couldn't help but feel amazed - MI6 had kept their promise. He was skiing in the Alps with Harry. Even though it was a boiling hot summer in England, it was a very weak summer in Switzerland and there was still an adequate amount of ice to ski. However, there were very little tourists at the moment and both of them could enjoy having most of the slopes virtually to themselves. Alex could remember the last time he had been in The Alps at Point Blanc – the landscape seemed creepy and desolate. However, he found himself enjoying how beautiful The Alps were. There was a different atmosphere with Harry and the happy touristy part of The Alps. It really was a holiday.

"Alex, can you show me how to move forward again?"

"That's easy, use your poles to guide you and take it slow at first. Assume the standard position again and start to use common sense."

Harry teasingly poked out his tongue, "Common sense isn't so common anymore, Alex. Give me more specific instructions."

Harry had never been skiing before in his life and was not very good at it. For him it was as easy as riding a bike. All Alex could do was be patient, which he didn't mind doing. He honestly didn't mind explaining a million times until Harry got it right.

Harry had managed to obtain a number of bruises and cuts while skiing, mainly from going in trees and tripping over. He never complained though, he could simply ask for more of the healing potion from his friend when he went back to the Dursleys. Besides, he seemed very happy regardless of how bad he was at skiing. Alex could see why, Harry would have never experienced anything like a family holiday before in his life. If they could really consider themselves as family, they had only known each other for a week.

"I easily prefer Quidditch over skiing in a heartbeat."

"That's okay; it takes a while to get the hang of it. Practise make perfect."

"Alex, I'm underage and have been using magic in Switzerland for a while and haven't been noticed. It makes me wonder if I can do something."

Harry brought out his wand, eyed a target and muttered, "Carpe Retractum."

A rope made of light came out of his wand and attached itself to a tree; it started pushing Harry along at a fast rate.

"Hey, no cheating!" Alex yelled out in response.

Harry eventually collided face first to the tree - not such a good idea after all.

"Ouch!" Harry must have had nettles in his face, something not too pleasant.

But that was not what Alex was concerned about; slowly the tree started to creak. It might fall and cause an avalanche. Both boys stood there in silence, not moving a muscle for at least a minute. When they felt they were clear, Harry slowly backed away from the tree. Alex guided him back to the lodge; they had both had enough skiing.

Tomorrow he and Harry would be going different ways. Harry would go back to the Dursleys for the rest of the summer and then to his magic school, Hogwarts.

He would meet Jack a couple of days later and then enjoy the rest holidays with Jack and his friends, unless MI6 had other plans for him. Although it was never spoken, they knew they wouldn't be able to have much contact with each other and would simply go back to their own worlds.

Alex had no regrets about meeting Harry, he was the only family he really had and vice versa (Dursleys didn't count). He could tell Sabina and Tom about having fun with his amazing nerdy cousin. He wouldn't say anything about magic though.

"You know Alex," Harry muttered once he had cleaned himself up and they were sitting around the lounge, "We could have saved millions of lives and no one will ever know it."

"It's what I do, Harry. It's a thankless task but someone has to do it."

Harry raised his glass of hot chocolate, "I know the feeling." 

"Cheers, and luck to where ever the world takes us. Our different worlds of espionage and wizardry."

Harry nodded. They continued to sit around and talk about some of the most random things.

Later they had photos taken at a booth in the Swiss main airport. The six small photographs would be the only evidence that the two had ever had anything to do with each other before.

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Years later Harry would come across the pictures again while leisurely looking through his photo albums. In all that had happened in the following six years he had almost forgotten who the boy was. He supposed that he had forgotten because the week that he knew Alex was far attached from the problems he had been experiencing at the same time. He remembered breaking into the bank vault and the 'fun' of skiing. A slight grin erupted on his face. It interested his wife who was sitting across him at the dining table reading the Daily Prophet.

"Darling, who's that?" Ginny inquired when she glanced over to what he was smiling about.

"Oh, did I even tell you I had a cousin? His name is Alex."

"What? You never said anything about wanting to invite a cousin to your wedding. I assume he's not a Dursley. I remember your cousin Dudley sent you a congratulations card but none of them could attend the wedding, or rather wanted to."

"He's my cousin through my mother's half-sister. We haven't been in contact in over six years."

"How come you've never mentioned him before?"

"He only stayed over the Dursleys for two weeks in the summer following the Triwizard Tournament. We made friends over that week. It was a part of some scheme concocted by MI6 - a muggle spy agency. We later broke into a security vault in Switzerland that belonged to some crazy squib that planned to use bombs to torment the world. We destroyed the bombs and saved the world without anyone knowing. We then had a ski trip in the Alps. I have no idea what happened to him after that."

Ginny gave him a puzzled look; he was sure that she didn't completely know what he was talking about. She took a while to answer him.

"So you were breaking into vaults before Gringott's and also have a cousin that you never mentioned to me before today?"

"That's right, sweetie."

She responded jokingly, "Is there any other secrets you've been hiding? An affair? A pet unicorn? A fetish for flobberworms?"

"Nothing else. Unless you count all the times I've finished all the biscuits in the pantry and blamed it on your brother eating them all when he was over."

"I knew it was you all along. Tell me more about Alex."

He truly loved Ginny. Over all these years they had stuck together through thick and thin, she understood what he had been through and vice versa. She had no interest in his fame or heroic deeds, just him. Their love was deeper than just romance.

More years after that, Harry received a letter in the mail one morning to find that a 'Dr Alexander Rider' had addressed him a letter. Harry spent a good three minutes just staring at it in surprise. It had no stamp, which meant that it would have either come by owl or been dropped off by hand. When he opened it he was even more surprised.

"Greetings Harry,  
My family and I are moving to London from the United States. I would be interested in having contact with you and perhaps your family if you have one of your own. My address is on the back.  
Sincerely, Alex."

He was more than happy to reply.

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"I can't wait to meet our other cousins," said Lily excitedly. She was obviously thrilled by the fact that Alex had a daughter about her age, eight. There was also a younger son, he was seven.

Ginny smiled, "You'll get to meet them soon enough."

"No offense to your side of the family Dad, but I kind of don't like our cousins Darren and Delilah," James lamented, "I mean, it kills me not being able to mention anything even remotely related to magic at all when they're around. Besides, I've only met them twice."

"James, be nice to muggles. I don't mind the Dursleys, their just 'vertically challenged' as Albus puts it." Lily reminded her brother.

The Potter family made their way through the middle class neighbourhood trying to locate the house that Alex had bought, gaining stares from muggles who passed them with their perceived odd sense of dress.

When they had got to the front door of 12 Sterling Close Harry pressed the buzzer. A woman wearing a flowing purple robe opened the door. She began to smile at them vivaciously.

"You must be the Potters," she said in an American accent, "I'm Citrine Rider, Alex's wife. I'm very, very pleased to meet you all. We've been waiting for you."

Citrine called the rest of her family. They were introduced to her eight year old daughter Ruby, who they could hear running down the stairs. She greeted them with a big smile. She was blond, like Alex, but was otherwise identical to her mother. Her son Jack was shyer and only mumbled a 'hi' while staring at the ground. He then walked away. From what Harry could tell, he had Alex's familiar big brown eyes.

"Jack has been having trouble with some of the kids at school," Citrine replied at her son's unfriendliness, "As you know, kids sometimes don't understand people who are different."

Harry hoped he would be able to find out more about this later. It seemed a bit insensitive to ask outright.

Alex was the last to greet them. He looked like an ordinary muggle man wearing a typical business suit. He was happy to see them, but Harry instantly suspected that there was something different. His work with MI6 had irreversibly changed something within him; there was some kind of deep rooted trauma – a slight aloofness. However, he seemed to recognise Harry with a familiar smile. He was alright, or at least from what he could tell.

After the children went upstairs, the adults went into the kitchen to talk.

"Would you like some cookies?" Citrine asked, to their surprise she took out a wand and waved it to make a tin of biscuits rise and levitate towards them. Both Ginny and he helped themselves to two.

"Harry, you didn't tell me Alex married a witch?" Ginny stated.

"I didn't know."

Citrine smiled, "Yes, I'm a fine witch from Salem's Institute but I would rather tell you myself then state in a letter. Besides, how did you think the letter arrived through the mail box? How could it have travelled by muggle post without stamps?"

Harry naively said, "I thought Alex might have dropped it off."

"Harry, I've left the spy world a long, long time ago. It brings nothing but sadness. I moved to the United States with the Pleasure family after my guardian Jack was murdered during one of the missions. They decided not to keep me after that. I became a dentist."

"I'm sorry," was all Harry could respond.

"It's ok; I've come to terms with it all a long time ago. Live goes on regardless. Now, what do you both do for a living?"

"I'm now an Auror and Ginny is a Quidditch correspondent for the daily prophet."

"An Auror?" Alex asked; it was easy to forget that he was the only muggle in the room.

"I fight dark wizards. It's kind of like being a policeman."

Alex nodded and there was a minute's silence.

"So why did you decide to move to London?" Ginny asked.

"Oh, for various reasons," Citrine said with a sigh, "I wanted to get away from my family who still disapprove of my marriage to Alex. There was more work for Alex in England."

"My foster sister Sabina also moved back to London, she's now an accountant for Yearling's. Her parents also decided to move back after a couple of years. I wanted to be close to them, they're family."

"Ah, it's always good to be close to family. I'm curious, how did both of you meet?" Ginny inquired.

Citrine smiled and so did Alex, "Oh, it was simply luck and chance. We started a conversation on the street and one thing lead to another. I may or may not have been drinking Felix Felicis."

They continued to talk through the evening. Dinner was lovely and the kids got along well with each other. Lily and Ruby played with one of Ruby's enchanted board games. Even Jack had started to come out of his shell and spent the afternoon playing tag with James and Albus on toy broomsticks.

'Well,' Harry thought, 'I think we will be having a lot more to do with the Rider family in the future.'


End file.
